"Multicolored" people

So, an interesting tidbit in my reading on Mauritania. A couple weeks ago, a princeton alum who is now the executive director of Africare commented to me that I "look very Mauritanian", after I told him about my upcoming trip.

Upon reading more about the country (information is suprisingly hard to find), I found that one of the largest population groups in Mauritania are the "Toucouleur", which literally translates into "multicolored (people)". Which explains why I apparently "look" Mauritanian. The rise of the Toucouleur population is, according to some sources, a direct result of the divisions between the majority "black"/ Wolof (also the majority group in Senegal, to give an idea of what we're talking about here) Mauritanian south and the majority "white"/Arab moor Mauritanian north and the abolishment of black slavery in Mauritania, which in turn caused a lot of intermarriage as a means of "marrying up". So the Toucouleur apparently make up much of what lies between these two regions as the two groups have mixed as a result of trade, industrialization and migration and, of course, our vicious friend colonialism. I'm really curious to see how the dynamic is on the ground, as there is apparently a rampant problem of racism between the two groups, but no one I have spoken to, and no site I have visited have addressed the issue of racism and the Toucouleur/mixed population, which I presumably will be considered a part of.

So this brings up another issue/question, since the same phenomenon has cropped up in South Africa and in other regions around the world, hence the terms mulatto, coloured (note the "u" to indicate its south african, lol), metis, mestizo, etc. It makes me wonder, specifically in the cases of Mauritania and South Africa, if a history of racism leads to a mentality that seeks to create specific groups of people rather than navigate individual differences. As in, it would be easier within a social mentality of strict classifications to lump all the "in between" people into their own respective racial/social/cultural/etc group, especially because the creating of a separate and disparate group inevitably skirts the issue of recognizing the interactive and socially significant relationships between "blacks" and "whites". So, if you have a group like the Toucouleurs, then wouldn't it be true that you would be re-drawing the color lines instead of understanding the fact that those lines are artificial and don't exist? Or, don't you just avoid the explanation of how racial and social mixing occurs naturally by instead separating out a specific (mixed) group as being an individual entity? I guess it could be worse, like the States, where apparently mixed people don't "exist" at all in the socially recognizeable sense of the term.

Yeah. So I am wary about the novelty and "coolness" of looking Mauritanian and how it will supposedly help me to blend in more. Feedback, anyone?

The Taboo of a Third Party

As most progressives, socialists and lefties have known for a WHILE, there has always been a pressing need for a third party in america - even more so these days, as both Democrats and Republicans have shown themselves to be totally irresponsible in their decision-making, as well as being so blindly partisan that decisions, actions, and rhetoric reflect more of a committment to one's party and politics than to the country and the international community as a whole. Anyways, so we need a legitimate and responsible third party because as far as I'm concerned both parties are rife with corruption and are becoming useless in terms of making this country and the world at large a better place

So here's a quote from an article by Cindy Sheehan that I thought was pertinent to this issue and the way it has been depicted socially and in the media:

"I am deemed a radical because I believe that partisan politics should be left to the wayside when hundreds of thousands of people are dying for a war based on lies that is supported by Democrats and Republican alike. It amazes me that people who are sharp on the issues and can zero in like a laser beam on lies, misrepresentations, and political expediency when it comes to one party refuse to recognize it in their own party. Blind party loyalty is dangerous whatever side it occurs on. People of the world look on us Americans as jokes because we allow our political leaders so much murderous latitude and if we don’t find alternatives to this corrupt “two” party system our Representative Republic will die and be replaced with what we are rapidly descending into with nary a check or balance: a fascist corporate wasteland. I am demonized because I don’t see party affiliation or nationality when I look at a person, I see that person’s heart. If someone looks, dresses, acts, talks and votes like a Republican, then why do they deserve support just because he/she calls him/herself a Democrat?....George Bush will never be impeached because if the Democrats dig too deeply, they may unearth a few skeletons in their own graves and the system will perpetuate itself in perpetuity."

Basically Cindy Sheehan is a peace activist who is offically resigning - see full text at: http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/05/29/1495/

Firestone Liberia on Al Jazeera (Part 2)

Corporate Exploitation in Liberia - continued

Firestone Liberia on Al Jazeera (Part 1)

So here's one of the International Labor Rights Projects that I'm working on right now - a perfectly fucked up example of corporate exploitation in Africa.